How To Grow Weed: The Organic Way

Organically-grown cannabis flower offers a lot of benefits to consumers looking to minimize their impact on the environment and their body. While many growers believe they achieve better results with non-organic nutrient and fertilizers, other farmers experience better effects and aromas from cannabis flower grown using organic materials. Organically-derived nutrients, hormones, and soil create an optimal environment for cannabis plants to thrive, absorb nutrients, and grow rich in color and flavor.

There is more to smoking weed than general dankness and potency. What makes some marijuana different than others is how it’s grown. When it comes to putting something inside of your body, it’s important that the substances you’re choosing are actually good for your health. Just like those home-grown spinach salads you shovel into your gobs at Whole Foods, so to should your weed be held to the same high stand of production.

A new movement in produce production is rapidly gaining more and more traction. Now, some producers strive for quality over quantity, which ends up giving consumers healthier products all over the globe. Instead of the shortsighted vision of mass production, focus is instead shifting towards the way these products are produced.

Jeff Lowenfels, A Harvard grad, lawyer, and passionate Alaskan gardener gave birth to a new era of cultivating marijuana that set the tone for the organic movement in America.

His unusual but strikingly sound gardening movements were enough to shake up a storm amongst the marijuana farming movement and cause many home and garden owners to question traditional gardening methods. “Let the ‘no rake’ movement began!”, as titled in one of articles in the Alaska Dispatch. The no rake movement refers to the idea of not interfering with the plant’s soil and simply allowing the soil take its natural course. This means, no outside, human interference. It means no pesticides, no chemicals and no harm to the finished product. It means allowing the earth to create plants without forcing unnatural growth.

The USDA regulates the organic certification process. Every fruit, vegetable or other consumable product must meet a specific set of guidelines to be labeled “certified organic.” 95 percent of the product must be completely natural and free of chemicals or additives while the other 5 percent may contain only specific additives as outlined by USDA. Some additives are permissible for some foods while unacceptable for others.

But, because cannabis is federally illegal, the USDA cannot regulate any nutrients or pesticides, and cannot give it the USDA stamp of approval.

With super soil, you’re re-creating the environment that causes cannabis to grow like a weed in the wild. You’re creating a “living soil” that acts a lot like the most fertile types of soil in nature.

This means a lot less work from you during your grow. In fact, needing less work during the grow is why many organic growers feel that growing cannabis in super soil is easier than growing cannabis any other way. It is easy and low-effort to grow incredible-quality cannabis buds in composted super soil; just water your plants and wait for harvest!

Better Taste, Smell, Smoothness– Many growers believe that growing cannabis in super soil enhances taste and smell compared to other growing methods, while producing smooth buds with less of a chance of “harshness” from over-fertilization

Great for Indoors and Outdoors– Super soil is a versatile growing medium that can be used to grow thriving cannabis plants almost anywhere

Natural – Super soil can be created using only organic ingredients that have been broken down naturally – this closely mimics the best and richest soil found in nature

No Need to Flush– Since there’s no chemical salts to alter taste and smell of buds, many organic growers feel there’s no need to flush before harvest

Can Be Easier to Grow – Once the amended soil is composted, growing cannabis in super soil is easier than pretty much any other type of growing medium; with super soil there’s less of a need to worry about maintaining pH or nutrients! As long as you’re starting with a good water source, you just water your plants and wait until harvest

How to Compost Your Own Super Soil!

You will need:

Huge mixing container (enough to hold ~110 pounds of soil)

Rake

Tarp or large trash cans to hold soil while it’s “cooking”

Composted Super Soil Ingredients

6 bags x 10-gallon Roots Organic Soil(For a total of 60 gallons or 210lbs of soil)

2 bags x 50L (35 lbs) Biobizz Light-Mix soil(Total of 70lbs)

2 bags x 30 lbs Organic Earthworm Castings(Total of 60lbs)

1 box 6 lbs Fish Bone Meal(3-16-0) Note: 3-15-0 or 3-18-0 can also be used

1 cup Dolomite Lime(“prilled” if possible)

½ cup Azomite(0-0-0.2)

1 box 5 lbs Blood Meal(12-0-0)

1 bag 4 lbs Happy Frog Bat Guano(0-5-0)

¾ cup Epsom Salt

(Optional) Up to 25% Perlite (for extra drainage)

The following instructions uses a “layered” approach to make sure everything is mixed together well. It is possible to throw all your ingredients in a pile and mix everything up, but this order makes it a lot easier to get a fully mixed final product.

Organically-grown cannabis is better for the plant and for the consumer. Because there is a higher level of support for medical versus recreational cannabis, focus on the health and safety of cannabis products will always be at the forefront of discussions.

Independent companies like the CCC in California, Organic Cannabis Growers Society in Oregon or OneCert in Nebraska. Using standards outlined by the USDA, these independent companies are offering both training and certification to cannabis cultivation facilities so that their products can feature an official certified stamp instead of simple buzz words like “all-natural,” “organic,” or “100 percent pure” which can be very misleading. Washington state has gone as far as to make a state-wide organic cannabis certification program.